I don’t normally talk about personal stuff because there are so much more important stuff to think about and write about. In this piece, I will make an exception to this long-standing practice, In the hope that this will provide some benefit to those of you who have ADHD people in your life.
I’ve had ADHD for as long as I can remember, But the intensity of it has waxed and waned. In times of abundance it barely registers and in times of stress it can be a lot to handle.
The reason why I decided to write this piece was because a piece of new understanding went across my attention span. It is the recent article that neurological decay in the brain and older people was linked not just to the micro biome, But also the function of the lungs. And there was a belief emerging that neurodegenerative diseases and problems originate elsewhere In many cases.
Now this was no surprise to me as I have believed that the gut is the primitive brain. And the one upstairs developed and came much later. I’ve also seen personally the effect of antibiotics on the function of the body in general.
I am a practicing Christian today, although I don’t wear it on my sleeve. But for a long time I regularly practiced Tibetan Buddhism, a beautiful religion. Now there are many schools of Buddhism, but for our purposes one school in particular might have relevance for the topic.
In Buddhist history there are very few lineage that were founded by women. While there are many examples of women providing the insight which others used to create lineages, the only one I know about was the great mother of Lap, Machig Lapdron. While the details of her story are beyond the scope of our discussion, Machig was in fact a mother, and the founder of one of the most beautiful practices, The Nature of Mind practice in the Kagyu school. She developed a series of studies that allowed people to learn to see their mind operating. These practices control the operation of the body and enable higher functions or enlightenment progress.
She lived for 99 years, When on her deathbed, she dictated her last instructions. Of particular note for us is that she believed that rambling thoughts could be mastered by merely looking at them, and continuing to notice the breath.
Not until recently did I connect this advice from a 12th century Tibetan Mystic with the details of my own life. I was having a discussion with an author friend of mine. He was going on for a long while on various topics. And I found my mind rummaging around looking for something to chew on. A classic manifestation of ADHD.
In that moment, I also noticed that my breathing had frozen. I was in a particular state of breath, Not all breath out and not all breath in somewhere about a third of the way in, and holding it defensively.
I changed my breathing pattern and began to almost practice a meditation while talking with my friend Charles, And within about 15 seconds all the ADHD had calmed, and I felt a rush of oxygen in my body. And I had no problem concentrating and listening to what he was saying.
I also felt calm and at peace. So if you know anyone who is suffering with this, consider the practice of learning how to observe and be with the breath, while participating.
Meditating on Machig’s Last instructions may also provide you with the same relief it has recently provided me.
One of the peculiar aspects of having ADHD is that there is a subset of people who have rejection sensitivity syndrome. This aspect of ADHD happens because some ADHD people experience continuous low grade rejection because people correctly pick up on the fact that they’re having trouble concentrating on what they are saying. And this leads to alienation.
One of the things I noticed when I got a handle on my breath and began to engage in the practice, that Charles warmed up to me within about three minutes and after seven years of knowing him, finally asked for my contact information. One data point does not make a pattern. Let’s see what happens!
Comments
Nothing yet. Say the first thing.
Sign in to join the conversation.